Bearing



' Feb. 27, 1940. A. G. F. WALLGVREN BEARING Filed Feb. 26, 1936 3 Shets-Sheet 1 A. a. F. WALLGREN 2,1 ,901

BEARING Filed Feb. 26. 1936 3 Shoots-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. BY WW W ATTORNEY.

- sTATEs PATENT OFFICE Sweden,' assignor, by mesne assignments, to Aktiebolaget Nomy, Lidkoping, Sweden, a corporation oi Sweden Application 9' Claims.

Myinvention relates to'bearings and particularly'to thrust "bearingsrof the tiltingfblock type. In bearings of this type means areprovided for creating and maintaining ran: oil film between the 6 sliding bearing surfaces. It is important that theload? be substantially; equally; distributed among the blocks in order that no one block shall be subjected tosuch a high loadas might disrupt the oil film; Such an unequal distribution of lo loadimay. resultfrom' various causes, probably the most common, of whichis misalignment of the shaft. In. practice itis' almost impossible to prevent such misalignment and-one of the'ob-' jects of ,myin-ventionis to assure an equal dis- 15' tribution of' .load in spite thereo 1 In accordance with. my-invention the'diflerent blocksare individually supported 'onjmembers which are in turn' resiliently mounted. The resilient means supporting these members are givenan initial tension that is higher than the normal bearing load to be carried by each block, but lower than the permissible overload, where- [fore under normal conditions of operation the resilient means acts as a rigid support. However; in the event that a higher load is imposed on any block, the resilient mounting associated therewith permits the block to. be displaced slightly, thus relieving the excess load thereon.

Further'obiects and-advantages of my inven- 80 tion'will be apparent from the following description considered. in'connection with the accompanying drawings, which form a part of'this specificationyand of which: v Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of one embodill ment of my inventionvused in. connection 'with a vertical shaft; v

Fig. 2L'is across-sectional view showing-:a-portion of'Fig'. 1, but on a larger scale;

Fig. 3 -.is across-sectional view-taken: on' the r 40 line 3" 3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view showinganother embodiment-0f my invention in connection with. a horizontal shaft;

Fig. 5is'across-sectional view taken on the I line 5-5-of Fig.4; I

v I Fig. 6 is across-sectional view taken on the line,6-5' ofFig. 4; and v Fig. "7 is'fla cross-sectional view'of'a third embodiment of my invention. go Referring'more particularly to Figs. 1 through 3, reference character- 10 designates a vertical shaft of; for instance; an" hydraulic turbine.

4 Shaft l0 extends within a bearing housing i2 which is suitably supported-in -a stationary manner. The lower part of housing i2 is formed February 26, 1936, Serial No. 65,748 In Sweden'March 2, 1935 with an annular recess in which is positioned a retaining ring M, which is substantially U-shaped in cross section and is formed with an annular base portion i6 and cylindrical walls i8 and 20. Base portion IE is formed with a plurality of threaded apertures, the number being equal to the number of bearing blocks, as will appear later. Bolt members 22 are screwed into the threaded apertures in the base portion l6 and are provided at their ends with pins 24 which extend through apertures formed in supporting members 26. Spring members 28 surround members 2' and are compressed between supporting members 25 and shoulders formed. on members 22. Spring members 28 may be of any suitable type of stiff spring butas shown they consist of a plurality of separate disc-like members provided with inner annular projections 29 on one side and outer annular projections 38 on the other side thereof. These disclike members are arranged so that the inner projections 29 of the first and second discs are in contact and the outer projections of the second and third discs are in contact, and so on. The discs are made of resilient material and .hence maybe deformed in the manner of a stiff spring.

Supporting members 26 abut against shoulders 32 constituting solid abutments formed near the top of cylindrical Walls I 8 and 20 of retaining ring I4. Consequently, the farther members 22 arescrewed into the base portion IS, the greater will be the initial tension produced in spring members 28, the members 22 thus constituting adjustable abutments. Members 22 may be retained in their desired positions of adjustment by setscrews 34.

Tiltably supported on each of members 26 is a bearingblock 36. These blocks are provided with radially extending ridges 38, shown in Fig. 3,'-which are to one side of the centers of the blocks whereby the blocks are eccentrically supported and willtilt slightly in order to provide wedge-shaped spaces between the bearing surfaces thereon and the cooperating bearing surfaces. These wedge-shaped spaces, when the bearing is rotated, cause a wedge-shaped film of lubricant to be maintained between the aforesaid bearing surfaces. Bearing blocks 36 are provided with flanges 40 whieh extend under a shoulder 42 formed in cylindrical portion 20 of the retaining ring l4. This prevents the bearing blocks from being'accidentally displaced in axial direction. Circular displacemcntof the blocks is prevented by virtue of the fact that the ends of pins 24 fit loosely withinrecesses 44 formed in the under surfaces of the blocks.

The upper surfaces of bearing blocks 35 are formed as bearing surfaces and cooperate with a radial bearing surface 45formed on a sleeve- Thrust is transmitted from shaft I0 to sleeve 48 through a two-part ring 58 placed within a I groove 60 formed in shaft I0. The parts of ring 58 are held in place by means of a clamping ring 62. Ring 58 bears against another ring 54 interposed between ring 58 and sleeve 48. Thus, clamping sleeve 50 is relieved of substantially all of the thrust and does not have to be secured to shaft I0 firmly enough to be able to transmit this thrust.

The bearing also includes a radial bearing com.- prising a ring 60 positioned within a cylindrical sleeve 53 which is secured within bearing housing 2. The inner surface of ring 65 is provided with Babbitt metal or the like 10 formng a bearing surface which cooperates with a bearing sur-, face formed on the outside of sleeve 48. Ring 66 is formed'with a projection I2 which has a curved outer surface, whereby the ring may tilt within cylindrical member 58 in order to permit the slight wobbling incident to a misaligned shaft.

While the bearing shown is intended primarily for use in connection with an hydraulic turbine where the.thrust is normally always in one direction, that is downward- 1y, it may occur that impulses acting on the turbine runner in an upwardly direction may overcome the weight of the shaft and the runner and cause the shaft to move upwardly, thus creating a thrust in the opposite direction. In order to resist this thrust the lower annular surface of bearing ring 66 is provided with a bearing surface I4 which cooperates with a' radialbearing surface I6 formed on sleeve 48. In order to prevent unnecessary frictional losses between these bearing surfaces during normal operation of the bearing. they are held out of contact with each other by means of springs 18 located within recesses formed in bearing ring 66. These springs are retained between sleeves placed in'the recesses and flanges formed on pins 82 which pins extend beyond the bearing ring 66 and rest against a flange 84 formed on cylindrical member 68 at the bottom. and againsta flange 85 formed on a bearing cap 88 on the top.

All of the bearing surfaces are immersed in a bath of lubricant retained within bearing housing I2. A sleeve 90 isconnected to the bearing housing and surrounds shaft I0 and extends to a point above the lubricant level within the bearing housing. The cylindrical portions I8 and 20 of retaining ring I4 are provided with openings 92 which serve to permit the free circulation of lubricant. These openings also make it possible to. insert the springs 28, supporting members 26 and the bearing blocks 36 within the retaining ring I4. A sleeve 94, supported by cylindrical portion 20, surrounds the thrust bearing surfaces and, in conjunction with cylindrical member 68,

tends to confine therein the agitation of-the lu in Figs. 1 through 3 Q embodiment. turn supported by means of spring members H0 by the rotation of. the flange to the. upper part 1 I30 which connect the different spaces I28.- The bricant caused by the rotation of sleeve 48.

The operation of the above described bcarin is as follows: 7 When the bearing is assembled the members;

22 are adjusted so that the spring members 28 the tension which would the normal load actingon each bearing block.

but is less than the permissible overload. The

shoulders 32 formed on cylindrical portions and 20 of the retaining ring I4.

However, should shaft in be slightly out of l are given an initial tensionlivhich'is greater than i be imposed thereon-by" 46 on the sleeve through the thrust is transmitted alignment so 'thatit'te'ndsto wobble" and thus" concentrate thrust on individual bearing blocks, the blocks so affected cause the resilient members 28 supporting the respective members 26 to be compressed'slightly, thus relieving the bearingblocks of the excess load. Consequently, the film of lubricant between any one'bearing block and the thrust bearing surface 40 cannot be subjected to such 'a high thrust load thatmit.

will ,be disrupted. Before this happensv the spring members 28 will be.distortedslightly, thus permitting, thebe'aring block to'be displaced which causes the thrust to be distributed among other bearing blocks. j v

The embodiment shown in Figs. 4 through 6 consists of a thrust bearing forxuse'in'con'nection with a horizontal shaft such asthe 'drivingshaft' of a ship. Inasmuch 'as' the shaft I00 is normally provided with.,f0rg6d flanges I021at e'itherend' thereof for the purpose of coupling it to adjacent shaft sections, all of r the bearing parts which surround the shaft must be made in two pieces in order that they may be assembled.

The. shaft I00 is 'provid edwith a radial flange I04 the opposite sides of which form' the rotate. ing thrust bearing surfaces. =Bearing blocks I06 are located on either side of flange I04 and are tiltably supported .on supportingmembersI08, which correspond to membersZG inthe previous These supporting membersare in mounted on members H2 which are threaded into,

retaining rings I14 which may be cast integral with the bearing housing'IIIi. f Radial load on the shaft I00 is carried through stationary bearing rings' II8 which are tiltably" of the bearing. From here it'ffiows through channels I26 intothe spaces I28 surrounding the spring members H0 at the. upper part o'f the bearing. from whence it flowsthrough channels opposite sides of the retaining rings l I4are const'ricted to form channels I80 in order that an excessive amount 01' lubricant will not be re-.

quired to fill these spaces. Lubricantmay also flow from spaces I28 at the top of the bearing through pa sages I32 and through channels I34 in the bearing rings IIB to the radial bearing tially the same as that previouslydescribed; the

to relieve overload on individual blocks.

springs IID acting as rigid supports under conditions of normal load, but being deformable to permit displacement of the blocks I'in order installations the thrust bearing must be capable of absorbing thrust in either direction, inasmuch as when the engines are reversed to drive the ship backwards and the propeller is hence rotated in a reverse direction, the thrustis likewise reversed. Cdnsequently bearing blocks I26 are provided on both sides of flange I04. In installing these blocks, care must be taken that the eccentric supporting ridges, such as are shown at 48 in Fig. 3, are provided at the proper sides of the center of the blocks on each side of the hearing. The bearing blocks on one side of flange I04 are called upon to transmitthrust only when the shaft is rotating in one direction. while the blocks on the other'side of the flange transmit thrust only when the shaft is rotating in the reverse direction. In both cases; the sup porting projectionson the blocks should be behind the center of the blocks with respect to the direction of rotation for which eachparticular 'block must support thrust.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 7 the bearing blocks I50 are tiltably supported directly on the rounded ends I52 of bolts I54. These bolts areprovided with nuts I56 threaded thereon and spring members I58 are retained and stressed bolts.

.greater number could be employed if desired.

Inasmuch as the spring members are retained between the nuts I56 and the flanges I60, all of the stress incident to the initial tensioning of the spring members is carried entirely by the bolts I54 and the nuts I56, and the retaining ring I62 is not subjected to any of this stress.

Nuts I56 are received within apertures I64.

formed in the bearing housing and the bolts I54 are thus retained in proper position. Bearing blocks I50 are held against rotation by means of keys I66 inserted in keyways formed in the bearing housing and in the blocks. The fit between the keys I66 and the bearing blocks I50 is sufficiently loose so that there is no interfer ence with the desired tilting of the blocks. The

blocks and the bolts are so positioned with respect to each other that the former are sup-' ported on the rounded ends I52 of the latter at the blocks. V d

As in the previous embodiments, the spring members I58 are given an initial tension which is greater than the normal load acting on the shaft.

In ship indivldual blocks but is less than the overload which would disrupt the oil films formed between the blocks I50 and the bearin surface formed on bearing member I68 which rotates with the In the event that the load onany one block tendsto become too high, this block may be'displaced axially by compressing spring member I58. The lower end of the spring members abut against an annular shoulder I70, formed on the retainingring I62 and bolts I54 and nuts I56 may slide within apertures I64 when the bearing block is displaced.

As is clear from the drawings, mitted from bearing member I68 through the lubricant, film to blocks I50 and thence through' thrust is trans-' bolts I54 and spring members I58 to shoulders I on the retaining ring,

While I have shown and described three more or less specific embodiments of my invention adapted for more or less specific uses, it isto be understood that this has been done for purposes of illustration only, and the scope of my invention is not to be limited thereby but is to be determined by the appended claims viewed in the light of'the prior art.

What I claim: A

1. In a block bearing, a bearing member, a plurality of separate rigid supporting members, a bearing block supported by each 'ofsaid members, resilient means for individually supporting each of said members, and meansfor permablock, the-area of contact between said sup porting member and the respective blocks being of such limited extent in peripheral direction as to provide afulcrum, whereby theblocks are tiltable about said fulcrum with respect to the supporting members and independently of said resilient means. v

2. In a 'block bearing, a bearing member, a plurality of separate rigid supporting members, a bearing block supported by each of said members, a stationary abutment, resilient means for individually supporting and forcing each supporting member against said abutment, and means for imparting an initial tensio'nto said resilient means which is greater than the normal load on each bearing block and less than the permissible overload on each bearing block, the area of contact between said supporting members and the respective blocks being of such limited extent in peripheral direction as to pro- .vide a fulcrum, whereby the blocks are tiltable. about said fulcrum with respect to the supporting members and independently of said resilient means.

3. In a block bearing, a bearing member, a

plurality of bearing blocks cooperating with said bearing member, a separate rigid support- .ing member for supporting each of said bearing blocks, a stationary abutment, a plurality of adjustable abutments, and springs between said adjustable abutments and said supporting members for individually forcing each supporting member against said stationary abutment, said adjusttent in peripheral direction as to provide a fulcrum, whereby the blocks are tiltable about said fulcrum with respect to the supporting members and independently of said springs.

4. In a block bearing, a bearing member, a plurality of bearing blocks cooperating with said bearing member, a separate supporting member for tiltably supporting each of said bearing blocks. a stationary abutment, a plurality'of bolts constituting adjustable abutments, and springs between said bolts and said supporting members for individually forcing each supporting member against said stationary abutment, said bolts being adjustable to impart an initialten sion to each of said springs which is greater than'the normal load on each bearing block and which is less than the permissible overload on each bearing block, said bolts engaging recesses formed in the respective supporting members supporting members, and a bearing block :sup-

ported by each of said supporting members and cooperating with said bearing member, the area of contact betweensaidjsupporting members and the respective blocks being of such limited extent in peripheral direction as to provide a fulcrum, whereby the blocks are tiltable about said fulcrum with respect to the supporting members being rounded so as to provide an areaof contact between the bolts and the respective blocks having such limited extent in peripheral direction as to constitute a fulcrum, whereby the blocks are tiltable aboutxsaid fulcrum with respect to the supporting members and independently of said resilient'means. l

'7..In a block bearing, a bearing member, 9.

plurality of bearing blocks cooperatingwith said bearing member, a separate bolt having a rounded-head for supporting each of said lbearins blocks, nuts threaded on said bolts, spring members initially tensioned between said nuts and said heads, and a retaining ring having recesses for movably receiving said bolts, one end of saidspring members bearing against said retaining ring for transmitting thrust thereto, the rounded tute a fulcrum, whereby the blocks tilt about said fulcrum with respect to the supporting members and independently of said springs.

8. In a thrust block bearing, abearing ring; a retaining ring having an annular base portion and concentric cylindrical Walls, bearing blocks positioned between said Walls and cooperating with said bearing ring, a separate supporting member for each block positioned between 'said walls, bolt members threaded into said base portion, and resilient means between said bolt members and said supporting members, said bolt members being adjustable to impart an initial tension to said resilient means whichis greater than the normal thrust load acting on .each" bearing block and which is less than the overload required to disrupt theoil film between said bearing blocks and said bearing ring, the area of contact between said supporting members and the respective blocks being of such limited ex, tent in peripheral direction as to provide a ful' crum, whereby the blocks are tiltable'about said fulcrum with respect to the supporting members and independently of said resilientmeans.

9.; In a thrust block bearing, a bearing ring, a-

and concentric cylindrical walls, bearing blocks positioned between said walls and cooperating with said bearing ring, bolt members movably retained in said base portion and having heads v for tiltably supporting said bearing blocks, nuts threaded on said bolt members, and spring members retained between said nuts and said heads,

said nuts being adjustable to impart an initial' tension to said spring members which is greater than the normal thrust load imposed on each of said bear-ing blocks and less thanthe overload" required to disrupt the oil film between said. bearing blocks and said bearingri g, one end of said spring membersbearing against said base portion. to transmit thrust thereto.

' AUGUST U NAR' FERDINAND WALLGREN. 

